Supply Run Blues
Summary: An overworked EDC shuttle on a supply run from Harvest-One goes down with engine trouble. The Insecticon Barrage discovers the stricken shuttle and calls for a Decepticon attack! European Russia Encompassing a quarter of the country and four fifths of the population, European Russia consists of vast, low-lying plains broken by low, gently rolling hills west of the Ural Mountains. Its extensive forests of spruce, birch, and pine trees are divided by numerous rivers and dotted with sparkling lakes, peat bogs, and swamps. In the southeast are the towering, jagged Caucausus Mountains and the Caspian Sea. Mineral wealth abounds: vast oilfields in the Caucasus region, the world's largest power stations on the Volga and Kama rivers, plentiful coal and natural gas, and deposits of iron ore large enough to affect the Earth's magnetic field. Most of the country's manufacturing is in the regions of Moscow, the Volga River valley, and St. Petersburg. Large oil refineries are located near the oil fields in Caucasus. Contents: Barrage Terran Shuttle James Bailey is standing outside of an EDC shuttle, looking inside of an opened panel near the engines. A couple of low-ranking EDC troopers are poking at something inside, with James offering a word of advice once in a while. In the distance, a dark fleck can be seen hovering over the lands. The wind carries a soft buzz, like a giant beetles wings beating the air. It was Barrage, far away and weapons not at the ready as he didn't think he would find someone all the way here. He stops suddenly and transforms into his Tiny Beetle form watching from the distance as his optical sensor modules lock on to the Terran vehicle. Out of the distance blasts a terrifying sight. Terrifying if you like decency and logic that is. None other than the form of Blueshift, his croissant like spaceship form scanning the horizons Up there! In the sky! It's a bird, it's a plane, NO even better! It's a helicopter! A baby blue helicopter with yellow rotors. Does the military really use such silly colors? Hint: They don't. But alas, there it is, bobbing side to side and dipping up and down every now and then. Blueshift continues to barrel across the sky, creating a blue streak upon the Russian air. "Barrage!" he barks from his communicator. "Where is my TREASURE? So that I may become ri - WHIRL!" He doesn't actually want to become Whirl (who would!) but his goldfish like attention span is interrupted by the arrival of the blue helicopter. "Nnnn I am the only flying blue thing!" he cries, lasers powering up to lance out at the Autobot Blueshift strikes Bell AH-1 Cobra with Pewpewpew. James Bailey glances around. Did he just hear buzzing...? After a second James shakes his head. No, must be his imagination. He's becoming so dependant on advanced sensor systems, that outside of a vehicle he's actually kind of clueless. He looks at the opened engine panel for a second. "No no Anderson, those are the -FTL- engines." He blinks, then looks around again. Did he just hear rotors? Hmm...out here? Not likely. Must be his imagination again. He turns back to the panel. Then he stops and turns his head towards the strange crescent-shaped craft that is Blueshift. "Decepticon!" he shouts. The low-ranking EDC guys start to panic, but James quickly orders them back onto the safety of the heavily armored shuttle. Luckily, there's also more effective EDC support in the area. James Bailey says, "Siryn do you read me?" Talazia Keldahoff says, "I copy. What's the matter?" James Bailey says, "The Intrepid's down - engine trouble, I think we strained something after all these metal runs. But I've got the Decepticon Blueshift incoming. Possibly Insecticon-class Decepticons in the area as well." Talazia Keldahoff says, "an Insecticon? I thought......nevermind. I'm on my way." Barely noticable, the tiny beetle watches from the distance, barely surpressing the urge to lay everything to waste. It radios Blueshift with, "You want to be a whirl? Eeeeew." And than returns it's optical sensors back to the Terran vehicle. Watching a bit longer. Bell AH-1 Cobra was really just minding his own business like the gentleman he is. Or was, untill Blueshift came along and starting shooting his hilariously named lasers at him. Really, Blueshift? Really? You're attacking Whirl? As the lasers turn the helicopter's chassis a scorched black, it begins to bob around more erratically. "Aiiiieeeee! Captain, Captain! We're under attack! Arrr, matey, return fire! Yes sir!" Whirl misses Blue Spaceship with his Pewx3 attack. James Bailey takes cover in the shuttle's cargo bay, leaning just his head and upper torso out into the open hatch with a hand pistol out. He turns his head back and barks a few orders to the EDC troopers inside, then looks out again, trying to watch for other Decepticons. So far he only sees Blueshift, and luckily there's an Autobot on hand. Blueshift banks up, strafing his lasers across the ground in a random pattern of fire, missing James by quite a wide margin, but more by luck than design. "Nnn this entire area now belongs to GALVATRON, Autobot!" he cries, his boosters charging as he tumbles though the sky, flipping nimbly to avoid Whirl's fire and respond with his own assault. "Get out of the sky!" Blueshift strikes Bell AH-1 Cobra with Die Whirl!. Just happened to be nearby to check on the status of an EDC base when Bailey's call for help came. Not wasting any time, she pretty much flew as fast as she could towards bailey's signal.....and yes....jet mode is a lot faster. Ironically....Blueshift pulls up RIGHT into the Ventress' scanners. so, rather than wait.....she takes a rather risky shot.... Ventress Exo-Suit misses Blue Spaceship with its gauss attack. Barrage lets out a loud "PAH" in distaste as he looks at Whirl, "That is some ugly choice of color." He says as he transforms. "But I'll correct that mistake." He than lines up his Gauss rifle and smirks, "Open wide." Barrage leaps forwards and transforms into a Rhinosarus beetle. Barrage misses Bell AH-1 Cobra with its Gauss attack. Bell AH-1 Cobra begins to quickly ascend after his shots were fired, hoping to get THE HIGH GROUND. It gives you an advantage or something. "Krkt, Houston, we have a problem!" he shouts, just before being struck by another of Blueshift's attacks. "Gyahahaha! Out of the sky out of they sky? Okay okay! If you insist!" The rotors come to an abrupt stand still and the helicopter begins to spiral out of control! Is it really out of control, though? It seems to be aiming at the Decepticon. Whirl misses Blue Spaceship with his ram attack. James Bailey frowns as Barrage appears, seemingly out of nowhere, and immediately starts unleashing heavy firepower. He runs back inside for one of the Exo-suits stored on the shuttle. This definately counts as a 'case of emergency'. You enter the Terran Shuttle . Talazia Keldahoff says, "Beetle? Seems I've found your position." James Bailey says, "Roger that. Appreciate the help. Watch out for that Insecticon...they're small but they pack some powerful guns." Talazia Keldahoff says, "I'll do my best. As long as that helo can keep Blueshift occupied....we can get the techs to fix the Intrepid." Twisting and shifting, the Talon exo-jet transforms into an exo-suit. Blueshift dodges to the side quickly, transforming as Whirl hurtles towards him, powering up his laser sword and swinging it at the helicopter. "Nnn no Barrage, blue is the BEST colour!" he shouts to the Insecticon. "Just it is MY colour, so I will CUT IT off this Autobot!" The humans are starting to gather and things are looking bad, but Blueshift is... too stupid to know any better The spaceship flips up into the handsome form of Blueshift Blueshift misses Bell AH-1 Cobra with his Colour Cut attack. Ventress Exo-Suit Robot pops over the area rather quickly, and slows down incredibly fast. dipping low over the Intrepid, the VTOL system kick in JUST before the exo transforms into Robot mode. One hand carrying a mean looking rifle. <> Barrage 's optical sensors catch Talazia and the horn on the beetle's head begins to glow malevolantly, before long a stream of plasma shoots out towards the Exo-Suit making the very air scream. Barrage strikes Ventress Exo-Suit Robot with Plasma. Exo-Suit 5373 Starknight Spare marches out of the EDC shuttle just a little ponderously. It's specialized for operations in space, but it seems well-suited enough to land operations. The problem might be in the pilot, who's not too used to maneuvering this type of Exo. But hopefully James is a quick learner. He transmits back, <> Ventress Exo-Suit Robot is hit rather hard by the plasma barrage. How ironic. <> The pilot says before the Talon floats lower on the ground. Raising it's rifle....the barrels begin to spin rapidly Ventress Exo-Suit strikes Barrage with ballistic. In a series of seperating, and splitting parts, Whirl transforms into his robot mode. Whirl is still falling and spinning around wildly, so it's only natural that he'd manage to avoid Blueshift's girly sword attack. That, or more likely, Blueshift is just a massive failure at everything ever. Gravity eventually drags Whirl down, and he meets the ground with a nice, loud crash, completely decimating anything that was too stupid to run away (like a squirrel or something). The helicopter appears to shudder for a few moments before it shifts and folds in half to reveal the robot it was. "Wow wow wee wow, that hurt!" He sits himself up and shakes his head, "Let me return the favor!" Whirl strikes Blueshift with repeating. Talazia Keldahoff says, "I'm not gonna last long, Beetle." Exo-Suit 5373 Starknight Spare raises a hand-held gunpod, similar to the Talon's but maybe just a tiny bit heavier since Starknights don't have the focus on speed and aerodymics. It emits a long stream of glowing tracer rounds at Barrage, the line of glowing streaks curving slightly as James tries to walk the fire into the Insecticon. You strike Barrage with ballistic. Blueshift is getting rather cocky in his attacking of Whirl, but suddenly the tables are turned, and he is hit by Whirl's rather nasty attack. "Nyaargh!" he says rather cleverly as he drops the knife he was about to hurl at one of the humans. Instead he rises into the air, and shoots a dagger from his wrist towards Whirl's singular optics. "Can't shoot if you can't aim!" he snarls Blueshift strikes Whirl with Flying Daggers. James Bailey says, "That's what they said about you on Cheyne, Siryn. Stick with it - these guys are tough but they're not invinvible! We've got the Autobot helping us too." Barrage 's growls as he is hit twice. "I vow that I will mutilate you." he barks out and shoots out a stream of plasma at Talazia again. This time aiming for the cockpit. The plasma screams through the air again towards Talazia with absolutely lethal intentions. Barrage misses Ventress Exo-Suit Robot with its Plasma attack. Talazia Keldahoff says, "Beetle.....I'm gonna try a different tactic." Whirl pushes himself onto his feet and throws his head back as he watches the Decepticon fumble around like an idiot. "Hehehehhahahahhaaahahahaha! Hahahaha! Haa ha! Ha- wait, what?" Shnnnkt! "OH, PRIMUS! OH, GOD! OH, OPRAH WINFREY! GAAAAAAAHAHAHAHA!" Whirl begins to run around in circles, a large knife sticking straight out of his optic. "THE PAIN, THE PAIN! HAHAHAHAHAA!" He lifts his arm up in the air and begins to fire randomly. Surely he can't miss! Whirl misses Blueshift with his Fablam! attack. James Bailey says, "Go for it - I'm gonna switch to the flying one." Talazia Keldahoff says, "right." Ventress Exo-Suit Robot is doing pretty good fighting from afar, but then the pilot remembers something about what Beetle said. The Talon rockets forward and seems to be rady to get up close and personal. That seems like a lethal combo when a bayonet snaps out from under the rifle, and a second blade snaps out from the Talon's forearm. Ventress Exo-Suit strikes Barrage with blade. James Bailey glances at his tactical display to figure out where Whirl and Blueshift are, then turns his Exo's sensors in that direction. James frowns when he sees Whirl shooting randomly, and quickly zooms in to spot the knife sticking out of the Autobot's face. Mouth set in a tight line, he drops the targetting reticle onto Blueshift's form, determined to give Whirl some cover. The small rocket launcher on the Starknight's shoulder swivels to track the flying Decepticon. Blueshift evades your Mini-Missile attack. Blueshift scowls at Whirl as he jams the knife into the Autobot's head a bit deeper, and that indulgence almost costs him his wing as he narrowly avoids a missile streaming past him. Shaking his fist at James he powers forwards, the human now firmly in his sights. "Only guy who can attack me is my brother!" he snarls. "And that's just 'cos I can pummel him into the ground!" He launches his fist forwards at the exo's form Blueshift strikes you with Hand Smash for 9 points of damage. Barrage gets slashed by a nifty little sword that more than justed scratches his paint. Figuring that at this range he would get caught in his own plasma bolt he jumps back and transforms into a robot. And not soon after, a piercing sound echoes through the area, "I will melt your brain, bastard." He barks. Barrage assumes his bulky robot mode. Barrage misses Ventress Exo-Suit Robot with its sonics attack. The Pilot KNEW getting in close would be the right move....as the talon hops to the side to evade the focused sonic attack. One of the most graceful moves seen, however, is when the talon spins on one foot and the rifle's bayonet cuts fluidly through the air....right at the insecticon. Ventress Exo-Suit strikes Barrage with kick. Whirl continues to run around in circles, laughing and flailing his arms around like a retarded pigeon. Once he gets that out of his system, he reaches out and -yanks- the knife out of his eye, sparking wires following suit and dangling out over his face in a rather grotesque fashion. "You think this hurts? You think this HURTS!?" He reaches up, loops the wires around a finger and pulls them out further, more electricity crackling over them. "THAT. THAT HURTS!" Whirl takes the knife and throws it at Blueshift. Or atleast where he thinks he is. Whirl misses Blueshift with his Where you at!? attack. Exo-Suit 5373 Starknight Spare seems to brace itself as Blueshift flies at it, powering up the laser cutter on it's shoulder. It's nearly knocked from it's feet by the force of the blow, but then fires the laser cutter (which works basicaly just like a normal laser when used in combat), trying to catch the Decepticon while he's still at close range. You strike Blueshift with Laser Cutter. Blueshift is hit by the laser cutter, and it hurts him quite... audiably. The Decepticon shouts out, his chest slicing open and sparks coming out, as he blasts away almost immediately. "You.. you.. HURT ME!" he screams out, pointing at finger at the Exo. "This is it, no mercy! Barrage, KILL THEM ALL!" He transforms in the air, and then straight away, rockets down, directly at James Blueshift leaps into the air, flipping into the form of a small spacecraft You evade Blue Spaceship's ram attack. Barrage "Uff"s as the bayonet cuts him, and reflecting his hatred is a stream of flame aimed at the Ventress. The stream of flame is black and thick and looks to be malicious. And hot. Oh yes. Searing waves of happiness infusing pain. Just how Barrage likes it. "Burn in hell!" He quickly at this time does a scan of the Ventress and adds, "Bitch." Barrage misses Ventress Exo-Suit Robot with its fire attack. Ventress Exo-Suit Robot ROCKETS to the side as the flames lick near where she was. <<'Bout time you figured out what gender I was.>> The Pilot radios to the Insecticon. Unfortunately for Barrage, that very move allows her to line up her rifle......and the barrels start to spin.... James Bailey watches Blueshift calmly as the Decepticon transforms and rockets straight at him. Then at the last second, James touches his controls lightly, causing the Starknight to sidestep and let the streaking blue craft pass harmlessly by. The Exo raises one of it's arms slightly in a matador-style flourish - Toro! Or maybe it was just bringing up the gunpod to unleash a long burst of tracer-rounds at Blueshift's rear. Ventress Exo-Suit strikes Barrage with ballistic. You strike Blue Spaceship with ballistic. James Bailey says, "I think we've got them on the ropes. Keep up the pressure!" Talazia Keldahoff says, "You got it." Whirl's optic would flicker with frustration right now if he had an optic to flicker. "BLUESHIFT!" he shouts, pointing a finger at a large boulder. "TIME TO DIE!" The Wrecker charges full speed at what he sincerely believes to be Blueshift, falls onto his knees, and begins to punch the crap out of it. Bam bam bam. Over and over and over again he hits it, both with his fist, and with the heavy box that was his right hand. "THIS IS THE FINAL BLOW!" he growls, hefting the boulder over his head and chucking it as far as he can. Whirl misses Blue Spaceship with his Flyin' Rock attack. Blueshift is blasted in the back, transforming to robot mode to clutch at his aft, smoke streaming from his legs as they spark from the rocket damage. "Curse you human germ!" he snarls, waving his sword. But rather than use anything ranged, he blasts towards him, boot outstretched, only to duck at the rock Whirl throws. "WHAT?" he shouts. "I thought I killed you!" The spaceship flips up into the handsome form of Blueshift Blueshift strikes you with Foot to the head! for 10 points of damage. James Bailey shouts to be heard over a massive CLANGing sound in the background. "Son-of-a-bitch!" Barrage snarls as he is hit many times. Jumping up he transforms into a Rhinosarus beetle and his gauss rifles charge up as he fires at James, having enough missing the other human. Barrage leaps forwards and transforms into a Rhinosarus beetle. Barrage strikes you with Potholes for 17 points of damage. Talazia Keldahoff says, "I'm gonna take out this friggin insecticon, beetle." Ventress Exo-Suit Robot despite the insecticon turning it's back on it, the talon continues the attack. <> The pilot says as she swings the rifle's to slash at barrage with it's bayonet. Ventress Exo-Suit strikes Barrage with blade. Exo-Suit 5373 Starknight Spare is rocked back by Blueshift's kick, then is blasted in the back by Barrage's massive attack, sending it staggering forward again, grabbing at Blueshift to stabalize itself almost like a drunk. Inside, James eyes his damage readouts clinicly, then pumps at one of the foot pedals in his Exo's cockpit. Blueshift evades your kick attack. James Bailey says, "Be my guest!" Talazia Keldahoff says, "Intrepid! Eta on the repairs!" James Bailey says, "I don't think it's a matter of repairs - the engines were overloaded. Too much weight. I, uh...brought it in from orbit a little hard and the engines couldn't take it. If we dump the cargo it might be able to take off, but I don't want to do that unless there's no other choice!" Talazia Keldahoff says, "we're gonna need help though." Lieutenant Gabriel Henshaw says, "What's the problem?" Whirl shakes his fist, "Killed me? Killed me!? I thought I killed YOU! Why am I still hearing your voice!?" The blue Autobot runs into a mess of trees and dissapears. Did he flee? IS HE SCARED? From a distance, one can see a small tree quiver and then fall onto the ground with a booming 'crack'. "/THIS/ IS THE FINAL BLOW!" Whirl shouts, coming back out into the open, tree in tow behind him. He grasps it tightly, drags it along the ground, and then swings it at Blueshift like a baseball bat. Whirl strikes Blueshift with HOME RUN!. James Bailey says, "These Decepticons have to be hurting too - just a little longer and I'm sure we can send them packing." Talazia Keldahoff says, "We're in Russia, the Intrepid is down and we've got Decepticons in the area, including an insecticon." Blueshift glares at the humans as he somehow manages to avoid another volley from James, only to get smacked in the face by Whirl. "Nyaaa!" his head cricks to the side horribly, as he slowly wrenches it back into shape. "I will deal with you next!" he swears at the Wrecker, powering forwards to swap places with Barrage and slash at Talazia. "I will bury you all!" Blueshift strikes Ventress Exo-Suit Robot with Slash!. Lieutenant Gabriel Henshaw says, "I see... I'll be there in a few with Alpha-One. I think it's time the Decepticons see that we aren't going to roll over at Ramjet's ultimatum." Private Jayson Redfield yawns. He sounds like he's groggy. "Russia? What're you doin' in Russia?" Barrage is slashes at his back viciously and he snarls in pain. But nevertheless, the beetle flies over to James and he speaks as his horn begins to glow. "Time to meet your maker." Barrage screams as he unleashes a bolt of superheated plasma from almost point blank in range. Talazia Keldahoff says, "we're gonna need help with BLueshift. I'm no match for him." You evade Barrage's Unmaker attack. Talazia Keldahoff says, "take out the Insecticon, Beetle. I'm gonna try and hold my own against Blueshift." Talazia Keldahoff says, "as a matter of fact, Beetle....double team the Insecticon again....maybe then we can take Blueshift." Ventress Exo-Suit Robot turns to continue tracking Barrage as he flies towards the starknight. The talon fires it's rifle, even as Blueshift strike the talon with his energy blade. Exo-Armor Alpha-One Talon has arrived. Ventress Exo-Suit strikes Barrage with disruptor. Whirl lifts the tree high above his head and lets out a wooping battle cry, "NEVER GIVE UP! NEVER SURRENDER!" He shuffles around a bit, trying to get a decent reading on Blueshift's whereabouts before throwing the piece of forest at him. "WRECK AND RULLLLLEEEE!" Whirl misses Blueshift with his Environmentalist's Nightmare attack. James Bailey just manages to shift his Exo out of the way of Barrage's lethal looking attack. James then taps out a quick series of commands on a control panel. A tiny computer screen flashes a message in red blinking letters - 'Confirm Overload Safety Protocols? Y/N'. James smirks and hits another key. on the Exo-suit's arm, the laser cutter begins to glow, capacitors whining with excess power buildup. The arm raises to point directly at Barrage before unleashing a massive energy blast. You strike Barrage with Laser Cutter Overload. Broadside has arrived. Barrage screams in pain as the laser cutter shreds his armor. "YOU WILL PAY!!" He transforms into his robot mode and begins to run away, having enough dignity not to scream like a girl, "ANOTHER DAY!" Barrage assumes his bulky robot mode. Barrage begins retreating, leaving itself vulnerable to parting shots from Broadside, Exo-Armor Alpha-One Talon Jet, Exo-Suit 5373 Starknight Spare , Ventress Exo-Suit Robot, Whirl, Blueshift, Terran Shuttle . Blueshift cranes his neck to see Barrage get blasted horribly by James. "Nnn puny humans!" he cries. "Shooting an insecticon is like... shooting Sweeps in a barrel! Get out of here Barrage before I get in trouble for you /dying/ on me!" With that, he powers towards Whirl, and aims his fist at the Autobot's head. "First I'm going to take off his head!" Blueshift misses Whirl with his AutoBUMS attack. Ventress Exo-Suit Robot watches for a second as Barrage runs away. With one down...it was time to start hitting blueshift. as Blueshift flys away, the Ventress goes to follow him.....and attack with the rifle's bayonet. Ventress Exo-Suit misses Blueshift with its blade attack. Whirl spins around, fist raised up to his face. "C'mon! C'mon! Let me at 'em! Geheheheh!" He jumps off towards the right and begins to punch wildly at the air, completely and (unintentionally?) avoiding Blueshift's girly punch. After realizing nothing was there, he spins back around and throws his fist out, "GODDAMNIT WHERE ARE YOU? WHEN I FIND YOU, I'M GOING TO PUNCH YOUR NECK IN HALF!" Whirl misses Blueshift with his Blind Boxing attack. Exo-Suit 5373 Starknight Spare lowers the arm, laser-torch still glowing brightly with excess heat, then marches back over to the EDC shuttle, taking up a defensive position nearby. Inside, James tries to keep the targetting systems locked on Blueshift, but doesn't risk a shot with two friendlies in close range to his target - and he's reasonably confident that it's only a matter of time now before they wear the speedy Decepticon down. Broadside soars through the air, it be hard to describe it as gracefully as big as Broadside is. Another routine patrol duty... ...geez, you'd think with a name like Aerialbots, they would pull more of this duty than him? His internal sensors pick up a couple of signals from below him, somewhere in European Russia. The lummox shifts into his carrier mode in mid air and begins to plummet towards the ground, running an at length scan of the sector. Broadside shifts into his Carrier mode. Broadside sweeps the area. Blueshift starts to make lewd hand gestures as Barrage manages to make his way out of range. "Hnnn!" he grunts as his sensors tell him the Insecticon is safe. "No point staying here on my lonesome, I might KILL YOU ALL TOO MUCH!" He makes a clicking gun-motion at Whirl, before transforming, blasting away. "So Russia is back on, yes?" he emits loudly as he speeds off Blueshift leaps into the air, flipping into the form of a small spacecraft Blueshift begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Terran Shuttle . Whirl is left spinning in circles and punching randomly into the air. He will keep at it untill someone stops him. Poor guy. From Exo-Armor Alpha-One Talon , Gabriel Henshaw descends through the clouds as well, his Talon diving down towards the action. "Well, I see things are never a dull moment around here," he mutters to himself, bringing down the exo-jet and transforming in mid-air to hover in place. And... well, it figures that right about the time he arrives is when the Decepticons are retreating. Lieutenant Gabriel Henshaw says, "... and you guys were worried..." Private Jayson Redfield says, "What's up now?" James Bailey clears his throat. Talazia Keldahoff says, "Seems my closing the distance with barrage was the real factor. Gabe.....at the rate this is going, I might ask for a Warthog...." Transforming while falling, Broadside finishes up his scan of the area and notices two unique energy signatures leaving the area... ...in a hurry. Heh, must be some Decepticons who got more than they could tackle. The jet hovers over the ground until it transforms quickly into the massive mech mode. Broadside shifts into his robot mode. Rodimus Prime says, "This is Rodimus Prime. I understand EDC forces are engaged with the Decepticons -- is the situation under control?" Talazia Keldahoff says, "The Decepticons have just retreated. We've just faced an insecticon as well, Rodimus." Private Jayson Redfield says, "Insecticon? Did it eat anyone?" Rodimus Prime says, "Good to hear. Any idea what they were up to?" James Bailey says, "An EDC shuttle had to make an emergency landing due to engine troubles. Maybe they wanted to capture it. Or just destroy it, they've been making a lot of threats and demands against the EDC lately." Rodimus Prime says, "Huh. Maybe you guys are starting to scare them, Lieutenant?" Whirl gives the whole 'running in circles while punching' thing another few minutes before falling over onto his back. "I did it. I scared them away." He raises his fist in the air, "..WITH MY STRENGTH!" Lieutenant Gabriel Henshaw says, "I'll feel better when I put the fear of God in idiots like Ramjet and Soundwave, myself." Private Jayson Redfield says, "Well, of course. We're downright scary." Talazia Keldahoff says, "especially Ramjet." Broadside inquizically takes in the scene for a moment, Whirl running around shadow boxing then collapsing on the ground. The Wrecker tromps up to him while he lays there on the ground, his fist raised in the air. "Are you training or something Whirl?" Rodimus Prime says, "I'll stop clogging up your airwaves -- just wanted to make sure everything was a-okay. Don't be a stranger." Lieutenant Gabriel Henshaw says, "Warthogs, Siryn, are decent on the ground, but their maneuverability against Decepticons is limited." Private Jayson Redfield says, "No worries, Prime. Anyway, if we weren't okay, I don't think you'd be hearing us right now." Exo-Suit 5373 Starknight Spare powers down and unseals it's hatch, letting James climb out. "He took a knife to the...er, whatever that is." James points a finger at the center of his own head. "He's going to need some serious medical help. Maybe we can give him a ride to the Autobot depot in Russia. I think it has repair facilities." You leave the Exo-Suit 5373 Starknight Spare . Talazia Keldahoff ponders. "sounds like I'll need to take a good look at the designs we have..... Whirl sits straight up, "WHOZAT!?" He jerks his head around every which way, wires that usually held his optic in place now flapping around against his face. Broadside manages to grab the jerking head with two large mech hands, pulling Whirl in to take a closer look. "Ewww, that doesn't look good." Whirl emits a low rumble as he's grabbed and held still, squirming around impatiently. Despite the scorch marks all over his chasis, that optic injury probably /was/ the worst. James Bailey says, "You should. A stock Warthog might not be very fast, but they're maneuverable enough once you get used to them. And nothing beats riding a tank into a fight." Talazia Keldahoff says, "yeah. thing is....I have something in mind for an advanced design." James Bailey says, "How did I know you were gonna say that..." Talazia Keldahoff says, "hehehehehehe" Gabriel Henshaw leaves the Exo-Armor Alpha-One Talon . Ventress Exo-Suit Robot unseals the hatch to her own exo and start to climb out as well. "Hold still Whirl, you'll only injure your optics... ..err, optic sooner." Broadside let's out with a sigh. Talazia Keldahoff ughs quietly as she climbs down....wearing thermal clothes. "I'm glad you guys are here. we're gonna need help getting the Intrepid into the air again." She then looks to Gabriel. "can you repair the Ventress? after the Star knight of course. Bailey took on Blueshift." Gabriel Henshaw comes in for a landing, and soon the cockpit opens up to let Gabe out. "This should be fun," he mutters, sliding out and closing Alpha-One up after getting out a tool-kit -- always be prepared, kids. He turns around, looking between the Intrepid and the Ventress. "Someone call for a tech team -- the Intrepid's gonna need more work than I can do on my own." That means the Ventress will be first. He starts over towards the Ventress. "What'd you do to it /this/ time, Tal?" His tone is joking, at least. Whirl crosses his arms and tries his best to look /very/ displeased, but he hasn't a face or anything, so it just comes out as a blank, eyeless stare. "Oh. I see what you did there." James Bailey looks between the EDC shuttle, the Exo-Suits and Whirl. "Let's look at our priorities here. The Intrepid's not in bad shape, in fact if we take off the cargo I'm pretty sure it'll be able to lift off again right now. We can use the space to take Whirl to the Autobot outpost." He gestures absently towards the Ural Mountains, "And our Exo's to the Moscow command center." Broadside chuckles, "I find it rather hard for you to see anything...". Whirl brings a hand to his chest in mock-offense, "How rude!" He grabs onto Broadside and lifts himself up onto his feet. Talazia Keldahoff chuckles at Gabriel. "Got hit with a plasma shot by Barrage, then an energy blade attack from Blueshift." She then looks to Bailey. "You really don't wanna leave the cargo though, do you?" Broadside complies, helping the fellow Wrecker to his feet. He looks over his shoulder to the terrans. "I can take Whirl wherever he needs to go... ...you don't need to burden yourself needlessly." Whirl huffs and leans, putting all his weight against his fellow Wrecker. "Agreed. I do not wish to become a hassle." Broadside says, "It's a little late for that, but at least you won't be their hassle to deal with..." James Bailey shrugs at the Autobots. Then he looks at Talazia. "Now that the Decepticons are gone, I'm not so worried about it. And if we can't even carry it with an interstellar shuttle, how could anyone steal it? We can leave it here until we've got another shuttle or two, then divide the load between them. But I'd like to get our Exo's back at one hundred percent as soon as we can, and that means a base, not just field repairs." James Bailey calls out for the low-ranking EDC troopers in the shuttle to start unloading the cargo. He throws a casual, mock salute to Whirl, then grins sheepishly, and instead calls out loudly, "In that case, thanks for the assist Whirl. If you change your mind let us know, we'll have room." Talazia Keldahoff says, "thank you, Whirl. I do think we'd have gone down sooner if you didn't keep Blueshift occupied." She then looks to James. "what if we got a salvage team out here to get the materials up? The ventress can still fly on her own and doesn't need IMMEDIATE repairs, but she's not at 100 percent."" James Bailey nods at Talazia. "Then I'll see you at Moscow. You too Gabe, we could probably use your help." He climbs onto the shuttle. "You Autobots are welcome to come along as well, if you want to get Whirl patched up." Talazia Keldahoff smiles to Broadside and Whirl. "Come on Whirl. it's the least we can do for the assist you gave us." She says climbing back into the Ventress. "Uhm," Whirl has to think about this a moment. Get some repairs, or travel with Broadside. "Okay, if you insist." Ventress Exo-Suit Robot unlocks it's joints once again and turns towards Broadside. "You should come as well Broadside." The Pilot says through the speakers before the suit transforms and starts to fly vertically. Twisting and shifting, the exo-suit transforms into the Talon exo-jet. Broadside shrugs, "Once again, if you insist. Can't look a gift horse in the mouth as you terran's say..." The triple changer walks Whirl closer to the shuttle, "How did that saying come to bearing anyways?" Gabriel Henshaw sighs quietly. "Fun... never a dull moment with my work." He hmms, pulling out a radio and transmitting his request for a tech team, two shuttles and a security detail, then replaces it. Whirl lifts a finger as he prepares to offer his intelligent and completely accurate explanation. "You see, Broadside, once upon a time, there were two ranchers who were always arguing. One day, the first rancher decided to make a peace offering and gave the other rancher a horse. Then the second rancher decided to give it a dental exam, and the horse exploded because it was a really a bomb." "Are you serious? Horses explode when subjected to dental exams?" Broadside replies, looking astonished. "They must have horrible teeth then..." Whirl shakes his head, "No, see, only the horses who are given as gifts explode after dental examinations. Hence why you shouldn't look them in the mouth!" Terran Shuttle warms up it's engines. Now that the cargo has been unloaded, it should have no problem taking off. Just waiting for any last passengers to board... Broadside boards the ship, still talking with Whirl about probably the /dumbest/ thing in the world. "So... ...gift horses are time bombs? I am quite confused." Try not to overthink it, my large friend," Whirl says as he steps into the ship. Yes, this is probably worse than the Mach-5 vs Batmobile conversations they have. "Just try to accept that some mammals become bombs when given as gifts." "I certainly hope I never receive a gift horse than!" Broadside says with all seriousness. "Because without my Mach-5 mode, I won't be fast enough to escape such a travesty!" Terran Shuttle closes it's hatch and lifts off, then turns and heads for Moscow. You move to the Moscow. Moscow Moscow is situated on the banks of the Moskva River, which flows for just over 500 km through western Russia, in the centre of the East-European plain. It has 49 bridges which cross the Moskva River and its canals within city limits. Moscow's road system is centered roughly around the heart of the city, the Moscow Kremlin. From there, the roads in general radiate out to intersect with a sequence of circular roads or 'rings' focused at the Kremlin. Moscow's architecture and performing arts culture are world-renowned. Moscow is also well known as the site of Saint Basil's Cathedral, with its elegant onion domes, as well as the Cathedral of Christ the Savior and the Seven Sisters. Even with the presence of such beautiful older architecture, Moscow's skyline is distinctly modern with towers and skyscrapers mingling with the spires of the cathedrals. Temperatures can vary greatly from the summer to the winter months. Winters are long and cold, often spanning 5 months of the year with below zero temperatures. Contents: EDC Forward Command Center Ventress Exo-Suit arrives from the European Russia. James Bailey brings the shuttle down for a landing next to the main building, then looks back at the Autobots. "Okay, we're here. It's a little rough, but this place can perform most repairs." Whirl looks around. Or, atleast makes the motion of looking around. "Nice place?" EDC Forward Command Center emits James' voice from a small speaker. "Turn 15 degrees left, walk about 30 meters, then turn around and back into the repair booth in the MFU over there." Whirl does what he's told as best as he can. Let's hope James isn't playing a cruel joke on him and trying to get him to walk into a wall. EDC Forward Command Center begins work on Whirl's minor injuries. Your repair attempt is successful, and Whirl's self-repair systems can handle the remaining damage. Broadside also takes a look around, cupping his hand and placing it over his head like someone would scouting a position. It's not because the sun is in his optics, only because he's seen enough Terrans do so. "How would you know?" he jests, slapping Whirl on the back. "Oh har har, Broadside. You cannot tell, but I am absolutely /shaking/ with laughter," Whirl says with a huff. "Shaking is not an effect of blindness, maybe you are suffering from terran pnemonia as well comrade Whirl?" Broadside asks, lurching his shoulders and peering closer at his fellow Wrecker, a hand covering the lower half of his face. "Quite contagious I think." Whirl hmm's and strokes his 'chin', "Perhaps. In that case, surely you are infected by now!" James Bailey comes back out of the base, after starting up the repair systems on Whirl. "Just hold still, this shouldn't hurt a bit..." Talazia Keldahoff looks over the Hermes and ponders. "oh brother. looks like i'm really gonna need to get my designing groove on." Broadside nods, still holding up his hand. "I'm quite sure my size will be able to handle a germ that affects your... ..." he replies, stuttering with the last part. "...Smaller form." Whirl would normally mumble something about acrophobia and the like, but he lets it slide. He doesn't really care about how tall or short he is anyway. "I sincerely appreciate your help," he says to James with a nod.